UST vs Bethel 12-5-18

Was over at Robertson Center on the campus of Bethel University on this Wednesday night to take in this important, early-season MIAC clash between visiting UST and host Bethel.  The Tommies were coming into this contest undefeated at 5-0 and ranked third in the country while the Royals were coming in with a 4-2 record; with the two losses coming to both Augsburg and UW-Eau Claire on the road.  More importantly, however, was that the Royals were hoping to avoid an 0-2 start in MIAC play and they would have to find a way to knock off one of the best teams in the country in order to do it.

Not surprisingly, UST got off to a solid start in this game; getting out to a 4-0 lead as senior guard Kaylie Brazil connected with one lay-up at the 9:50 mark and backcourt mate and fellow senior guard Lucia Renikoff connected with another at the 8:57 mark.  The Royals, however, managed to tie the game at 4-all as willowy senior post Hannah Johnson connected with a lay-up off of an inbounds pass at the 8:11 mark and followed that up with an offensive rebound for a putback at the 7:49 mark.  A free throw by sophomore guard Bella Williams allowed Bethel to poke its nose out in front 5-4 at the 6:56 mark.  Tommie All-American senior post Hannah Spaulding put her team back out in front with an offensive rebound for a putback that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" had UST ahead 7-5.  For the most part, the Royals had been doing a good job of containing Spaulding in the first few minutes of the opening period as Head Coach Jon Herbrechtsmeyer opted to have Spaulding double-teamed whenever she got the ball down low.  The only problem was that Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn knew right away that her other players had to get involved offensively to counter that and they responded.  Senior point guard Sarah Krynski connected with one lay-up with 4:46 left as did sophomore guard/forward Kaia Porter with 4:11 left for an 11-5 UST lead.  Sophomore reserve guard and former Elk River standout Kelsie Cox then drained a "3" from the right wing area with 3:53 left to expand the lead to 14-5 and the Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer had no choice but to call for a halt to the action to get his troops reassembled.  And complicating Bethel's situation was that junior guard Haylee Barker had already been forced to the pine after picking up her second personal foul of the evening.  The Tommies' Porter got the lead to double-digit range with her hard drive and short, one-handed jumper with 2:54 left in the opening period to make it a 16-5 ballgame and a coast-to-coast lay-up by Porter with 1:37 left maintained the eleven-point edge at 18-7.  The Royals briefly got things down to single digit range when junior forward Taite Anderson muscled into the paint for a score with 1:21 left but UST's Porter struck again with :59 left with her score in the paint to make it a 20-9 game.  Bethel's Johnson; not necessarily known for her three-point prowess, got open for a good look from the left top area and gracefully nailed a bomb to get the Royals back within that ten-point range down 20-12 with :36 left but the Tommies would respond on their next possession when sophomore reserve guard Madi Radtke was sent to the charity stripe with :17.8 left and her two free throws had UST up 22-12 heading into the second period.

The Tommies continued to maintain the upper hand for a good chunk of the second period as they worked on expanding their lead.  The always-reliable Renikoff made a hard drive into the lane for a finish at the 9:41 mark and a Spaulding score in the paint off of an inbounds pass at the 8:47 mark upped the lead to fourteen at 26-12.  Less than a minute later, Renikoff would nail a "3" from the right wing area at the 8:01 mark to give UST a 29-13 lead before the Royals could finally start making some inroads on the deficit.  Sophomore reserve forward Elizabeth Schwarz got into the paint for a score at the 7:35 mark and followed that up with a lay-up at the 5:23 mark to get the gap down to twelve points at 29-17.  Junior forward Taite Anderson finally got into the books with one free throw with 4:54 left and a "3" from the top of the key by sophomore forward Makenna Pearson with 4:23 left had the deficit down to ten points at 31-21.  The Tommies' Porter would up that lead to thirteen points with her "3" from the left top area with 3:10 left but complicating UST's situation by this time was that Spaulding was relegated to the bench for the rest of the half after picking up her third foul a minute before.  Trailing 34-21, Bethel closed out the second period on a 9-2 burst.  Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up with 2:57 left and a lay-up by Johnson with 2:27 left had the deficit down to nine points at 34-25.  Sophomore reserve guard Michaela Craigan connected with a lay-up as well with 1:41 left and with 1:07 left Taite Anderson connected with a lay-up in transition that also drew a foul and her ensuing "and one" suddenly cut the Tommie lead to 34-30.  UST got a bit of redemption before the halftime buzzer sounded when Porter got into the paint for a score with :47 left but down 36-30, the Royals had to feel infinitely better about themselves than they did just a few short minutes ago.  One thing that had to have Herbrechtsmeyer and his staff feeling good was that Bethel had a sizable edge in rebounding per the first half box score by a 17-9 count and recorded five steals as well.  UST shot very well from FG range in the first half; going 15-25 for 60% compared to Bethel's 11-26 for 42.3% but one item that had to be irking Tommie Head Coach Ruth Sinn during the break was that her squad shot only 3-8 from the charity stripe for 37.5%; not to mention the 11 first half turnovers they suffered.

The Royals put UST on their heels for a good chunk of the third period as they not only closed the gap but also managed to take the lead for the first time in this contest as well.  Johnson's offensive rebound and putback of her own miss at the 9:46 mark helped spark an 8-2 Bethel run.  Taite Anderson maneuvered into the paint for one score at the 9:33 mark that cut the deficit down to two points at 36-34 and a Taite Anderson drive into the lane and finish at the 7:59 mark kept the Royals in that two-point range down 38-36.  At the 7:34 mark, Taite Anderson struck again with a lay-up to tie the game at 38-all and the Tommies' Sinn wasted little time in calling for a halt to the action to try and make some adjustments on defense.  Still, the Royals were making things uncomfortable with their pressure defense and that gave them the opportunity to poke their nose out in front.  After a Johnson lay-up at the 6:20 mark tied the game again at 40-all, Barker; who had collected those two early fouls in the first period, connected with a lay-up at the 5:23 mark to push Bethel out in front 42-40.  UST answered this challenge as Renikoff unloaded a three-point bomb on the ensuing Tommie possession from the left top area with 4:50 left to give them a 43-42 lead but the Royals answered that as Pearson connected with a lay-up with 4:34 left to give the home team the lead back at 44-43.  The Tommies answered this with a three-point bomb by Brazil from the right corner with 4:02 left to give UST the lead back at 46-44.  Johnson would respond for Bethel with her jumper from the free throw line with 3:43 left to tie the game again but Porter would respond for the Tommies on their next possession with 3:30 left on a jumper in the lane for a 48-46 UST lead.  Right back came the Royals' Johnson who used her slender 6'1" frame to slither into the paint for a score with 3:18 left to get things tied up again at 48.  UST would assume the lead again with 2:56 left when Renikoff made a hard drive into the lane for a finish but Bethel's Pearson would unload a three-point bomb on the Royals' ensuing possession with 2:42 left from the left wing area as they grabbed a one-point lead at 51-50.  Somewhat fittingly, UST's Cox was sent to the charity stripe with :26.6 left where she got one free throw to go down to make it 51-51 and a lot of uncertainty swirled around Robertson Center as this game morphed into the fourth period. 

Bethel certainly seemed to have the upper hand - at least from an emotional standpoint anyway as the fourth period got underway but this experienced and seasoned Tommie team had vastly different ideas in mind when it came to letting an opponent think that they had the inside track to a win.  One "3" by Renikoff from the top of the key at the 9:40 mark and another one by Cox from the right corner at the 8:30 mark suddenly had UST up 57-51 and the Royals' Herbrechtsmeyer; sensing that this one was suddenly slipping away after such a promising third period, quickly took a match to a timeout to try and get his squad settled down.  But those back-to-back treys by the Tommies had a deflating effect on this Bethel team and their situation grew even more ominous a bit later when Barker collected her fourth foul of the evening at the 8:15 mark.  UST was quick to capitalize as Radtke made a drive into the lane for a finish at the 8:00 mark to get the lead to 59-51 and now the Royals would be hard-pressed to try and bring this one back again.  Still, Bethel was able to crawl back into the thick of things to at least give themselves a chance anyway.  Two Johnson free throws at the 7:15 mark cut the deficit down to six points at 59-53 and when UST's Spaulding was tabbed with her fourth foul of the night at the 6:00 mark, it gave the Royals even more of a chance to get the ship steadied again.  Taite Anderson grabbed an offensive rebound for a putback at the 5:55 mark to cut the deficit down to five points at 60-55 and Bethel's trademark pressure defense gave them another opportunity as Williams was able to snare a steal near the mid-court area and she promptly dashed to the home basket for a lay-up at the 5:10 mark to get the Royals back to a single-possession down 60-57.  But just when the Tommies looked vulnerable, they tightened up things on defense and got key scores when they needed them to finally end the threat.  Spaulding; riding those four fouls, got into the paint for a score with 3:29 left and after a foiled Bethel possession, the All-American repeated the act with 2:42 left to push UST's lead to seven at 64-57.  A Porter drive and finish with 2:05 left maintained the seven-point edge at 66-59 and when the Royals' Taite Anderson fouled out with 1:40 left, that really seemed to be the proverbial nail in the coffin for Bethel's last hope.  Spaulding would sink one insurance freebie with 1:20 left to pushe the lead to 67-59 and although the Royals' Johnson would connect with a "3" from the left top area off of the glass with 1:07 left, there was simply too much deficit to overcome this time around.  UST's Porter sank two insurance free throws of her own with :53.4 left as would Cox with :22.3 left for a 71-64 Tommie lead.  Although Brazil would be unable to connect with two charity stripe shots with :18 left, she redeemed herself when she got sent to the line again with :05.3 left where she casually put down two more points for the Tommies and UST got out of Robertson Center with a hard-earned 73-64 victory. 

I caught up with Bethel's Herbrechtsmeyer afterward and although disappointed with the final outcome, he seemed pleased with the effort his team gave tonight.  He knew his squad would have to play a full 40 minutes (and perhaps then some) to take down mighty UST and although they showed signs of being able to do that, they were unable to stave off that early fourth period push by the Tommies.  UST's Sinn; although happy and relieved with the win, couldn't help but point out the 21 turnovers her squad was guilty of on this night; an unusually high number for this experienced team but this Bethel team with its pressure defense can force even the best of teams into an unusually high number of turnovers.  Bethel also won the battle on the boards on this night by a 34-24 count.  Surprisingly, neither team shot that well from the charity stripe - UST going 14-21 for 66.7% while Bethel went 8-13 for 61.5%.  Like UST, Bethel was guilty of 21 turnovers as well and one of the more telling stats was that UST had 26 points off of those turnovers.  It was certainly a fine night for Porter as she led the Tommie attack with her 21 points while Renikoff added 15 points and Spaulding had 13 points while battling foul trouble.  Johnson had a splendid night for Bethel with a "double-double" of 27 points and 11 rebounds to lead all scorers while Taite Anderson was the only other Royals player in double-figures with her 17 points.